In order to identify animals, such as cattle, sheep and goats, ear tags have been used for a number of years. Physical markings my be written or printed on a tag either alone or in addition to a transponder which is used to identify the animal when that animal is in range of a receiver for reading the information m the transponder.
However, due to the design of some of the ear tags where they protrude from the outer back or rear side of the ear, one or more surfaces of the tag can be caught by structures such as fencing, hay feeders, water troughs or wire mesh. Generally when the animals pull their heads back out from hay feeders or fences or similar structures, the structure creates pressure on the back of the ear and can then gain purchase on the tag or tag component position on the back surface of the ear, which then potentially leads to the tag components or tag, as in case of a single piece tag, being either pulled apart or the tags stay intact but rip the ear as the animal's head is withdrawn from the snagging structure Livestock cattle tags have an overhang adjacent an area where a penetrating member or prong meets the base portion of the male part of the tag. This effective overhang can confine the external structure which then exerts extreme pressure on the prong, often resulting in tag dislodgement. To minimise this snagging effect, these tags are manufactured using a soft flexible plastic (Polyurethane with Shore hardness of 95 A)) so the flange can often flex and release the snagging structure from under the flange of the male prong tag positioned on the back of the ear. However, industry has found that after several years of use in an animal's ear, the polyurethane tags weaken due to the nature of the softer plastic. The weakening of the plastic results in the stem or prong of these male tags to lessen their holding or tensile strength and more readily the stem breaks when pressure is applied, such as when the stem or prong is snagged or caught under the flange on an obstructing structure, such as fencing wire, hay feeders or bales. To overcome this industry problem with loss of animal identification due to poor tag retention, a harder more robust prong is required. However for this to retain the tag for long term retention or life retention, it must be resistant to snagging on structures. With the animal's tag being snagged by the wire for instance, this can do damage not only to the animal's ear but to the ear tag itself with a result that the identification, either physical or through the transponder being damaged, is lost or the transponder is destroyed.
Furthermore, in particular when ear-tagging goats, the skin in the ear of the goats can react negatively or over react to the presence of a tag. This tends to occur when the head of the penetrating member is about the same size or smaller than the diameter of the stem so that the hole that has been made in the ear by the head of the penetrating member is not larger than the stem diameter. These animals tend to be very sensitive to this type of tag and experience a reactionary healing process. A granulating wound can grow inside the ear along the prongs.
There is also a need to apply efficiently and quickly a number of tags to animals at once. One can take a great deal of time to tag one animal when each tag or the male penetrating member has to be placed in an applicator and then configured to fit a corresponding female portion, with the ear between the two. This in particular applies to sheep.
The present invention seeks to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages by providing an improved animal tag for use on various animals.